


The Deadlight Mystery

by der_tanzer



Category: Riptide (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-19
Updated: 2012-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-21 12:27:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/597754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/der_tanzer/pseuds/der_tanzer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick and Cody find a mystery on the boat. Murray has the answer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Deadlight Mystery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tinx_r](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinx_r/gifts).



> Prompted by Tinx_r, for LJ Prompty Thing II.

“What on earth is the matter with Boz these days?” Cody said, sitting down at the salon table. Nick gave him a cup of coffee and sat beside him.

“No idea. He’s always stayed up late, but it seems like we never see him during the day at all.”

“You know, that’s right. He hasn’t been up here for lunch in a good two weeks. I guess I hadn’t really noticed.”

“Huh. Maybe we ought to get better food. Grill him a steak or something,” Nick suggested. The truth was, he and Cody had been working a lot of cases alone lately, but they enjoyed the time together so much that they hadn’t really missed him. 

Yesterday he’d gone down to invite Murray to have grilled cheese with them and found his door locked. That was decidedly strange. He’d meant to tell Cody about it, but grilled cheese had somehow led to sex and he’d forgotten. “Maybe we ought to go check on him.”

“Yeah, we probably should,” Cody agreed. He didn’t sound enthusiastic about it. They finished their coffee and went down to the stateroom, cautious of something neither could have explained. This was their boat, their _home_ , and they had never feared it before. Not even when Murray was convinced they had a ghost. He’d made an interesting case then, and it felt even creepier now.

Cody knocked softly on the door, then harder, and finally pounded until it rattled in the frame. When he didn’t get any response, he tried the knob. It was locked.

“Look out,” Nick said grimly and kicked it open. The frame splintered around the bolts of two locks they hadn’t known were there. One was a simple slide, but the other was some kind of weird deadbolt that turned on the inside and didn’t show at all on the outside. The room itself appeared to be empty.

“What the hell is this?” Cody whispered. “If he isn’t here, how did he lock the door?”

Nick went in ahead of him and poked around slowly. He looked in the hanging lockers, under the desk, even under the bed. But there was no sign of Murray anywhere.

“This is kind of weird,” he murmured. “Cody, look. He’s opened the deadlight. He never does that.”

Sure enough, the black tinted glass was pulled in on its hinge and the clear glass that belonged outside was gone.

“Where’s the glass?” Cody asked, baffled and more than a little annoyed. He hated when people messed with his boat. “And how did he even get it off?” Cody reached through the porthole and felt the skin of the hull carefully. Murray had removed the screws and taken off the hinge.

“Seriously, Nick. He couldn’t do this from inside. Not even with those skinny arms and long fingers of his. When it’s open, the hinge is behind the glass. If it was on the other side of the boat he could stand on the pier, but this… What the hell’s going on?”

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out when he gets back.” 

“I guess,” Cody agreed. “It’s not like we can hide what you did to his door.”

“What I did? Was there any chance at all that you wouldn’t have if I didn’t?”

“None worth mentioning.” Cody sighed and ran his hands through his hair. It wasn’t just the damage to his boat, it was the unbearable mystery of the thing. Cody hated mysteries. Locked doors, tiny windows that not even a child could squeeze through—a body in here would be easier to explain.

“Is it just me or do you want to tear this room apart?” Nick asked.

“It’s not just you. Buddy, I think I need a grilled cheese.”

***

They didn’t really know what to do with the rest of the day. Now that it was out in the open, the question of where Murray went and what he did couldn’t be shoved aside anymore. Even while making love, they were listening for the wheelhouse door, for the sound of Murray’s steps on board. Afterwards they went to the galley to make grilled cheese for real and found excuses to stay there. If Murray disappeared from his room, impossible as it was, it seemed somehow plausible that he would reappear there.

As daylight turned to dusk, they rose without discussing it and went into his room to finish waiting. He was always there in the evenings. That was when he did his work. And he almost always ate dinner with them. They didn’t know when he left or how long he was gone, but they did know when he was there.

It was almost full dark when it happened. Cody was flipping through a magazine while Nick sat beside him on the lumpy cot and idly groped Cody’s thigh, both of them nervous but not actually afraid. Until a rather largish black object sailed through the open deadlight and thudded on the floor. Nick shouted in surprise and Cody’s magazine sailed through the air like an exploding bat.

The object on the floor was also a bat, as they saw when it rolled over and scrabbled upright on its wing claws. Then it exploded in a burst of smoke and there stood Murray, naked and pale, trembling a little as if from cold. He grabbed his robe off the back of a chair and pulled it on swiftly.

“What the _fuck_!” Nick shouted. He didn’t know he was shouting and no one told him. “Murray, what the—how did—what are you— _fuck_!”

“It’s okay,” Murray said, smiling a little. His gleaming fangs retracted as he spoke and Cody screamed. “Guys, really. I’m just a vampire. It’s no big deal.”

“No big deal?” Nick shouted. Cody tried to think of something to contribute and settled on screaming again. “Is this what you do all day? Fly around biting people?” Murray cocked his head in confusion and Nick paused to think for the first time. “Wait, that’s not right. What are you doing out during the day? Shouldn’t you be sleeping in a coffin in the bilge or something?” It seemed reasonable to say such crazy things to his friend and business partner, since this couldn’t possibly be happening.

“Hang on a second.” Murray pulled up the chair his robe had been on and sat down. “It’s very simple. I just didn’t tell you because I thought you might be a little upset.”

“A little… Jesus,” Nick whispered. “Is this for real? Did you really fly in here as a kamikaze bat?”

“Well, technically no. See it wasn’t a suicide run, I’m just not very good at landing yet.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Cody said, forming actual words for the first time since Murray crashed into the floor.

“If it’s so simple,” Nick said with the calm born of shock, “why don’t you explain it?”

“Sure. Sure, no problem. I guess it was a year or so ago that Lt. Quinlan was turned by a guy he pulled out of a fight at the _Lobster Pot_.”

“Wait, Quinlan? What’s he got to do with this?”

“I’m getting to that part. See, he was turned by a vampire master so he’s a full vampire.”

“He _is_?” Nick repeated carefully. “Murray, Quinlan’s dead.”

“No he isn’t,” Murray said easily. “Just let me explain. It’s really very exciting. I’ve been dying to tell you, I just didn’t know how. People can be so touchy about these things. Anyway, one night a couple of months after he was turned, I ran into him hanging around the pier. You guys were on a date and I went to _Straightaway’s_ for a burger. We got to talking about a case, I forget which one, and he was being so friendly for a change, I went back to _Straightaway’s_ with him for a beer. Which turned into three or four, and the next thing I knew, he was sucking on my neck in the ally out back.”

“And you _let_ him?” Nick croaked. “That’s disgusting. Even if he wasn’t a vampire.”

“Well, I was pretty drunk. And if felt—good,” he added dreamily. “I liked it. And I liked it even more when he bared his throat to me in return.”

“I’m gonna be sick,” Cody groaned and promptly threw up in the trash can. Nick rubbed his back absently, most of his mind still on this impossible story.

“Are you alright?” Murray asked solicitously. “Let me get you a drink of water.” He got up and went out to the galley, ignoring the damage to his door.

While he was gone, Nick put his arm around Cody’s shoulders and hugged him hard.

“It’s not real,” Cody whispered. “It’s not real, Nick. I’m hallucinating. _We’re_ hallucinating. It can happen, you know. Those must’ve been funny mushrooms in the grilled cheese this morning and then we got all worried together and now—now we’re seeing—the same thing.”

“Yeah, maybe,” replied the harder-headed Nick. He wasn’t all educated like Cody so he tended to believe what he was seeing.

Murray returned and gave Cody a glass of cool water. Their fingers touched briefly and Cody nearly dropped the glass. Murray’s hand was much colder than the water. Still, he drank it down and said nothing. His throat had never been so dry.

“So Quinlan made you a vampire?” Nick asked. Cody gagged a little and Nick patted his shoulder.

“He was lonely. He’d turned a couple other people but they got so excited about their new powers that they went right off to LA and left him. He thought since I have you guys and everything I’d be more likely to stay. I guess I never knew how much he liked me.”

“Wait, he did this because he _likes_ you?” Cody gasped.

“Well, yes. We’ve been lovers ever since,” he said frankly and Cody threw up again. Murray went and got him another glass of water before continuing.

“Like I said, he was lonely. He always has been, and honestly, being a vampire just made it worse.”

“But—how can that be?” Nick asked blankly.

“I guess it’s hard to relate to people when you’re undead,” Murray shrugged. “At least for him.”

“No, I don’t mean that. But we might come back to it. I meant that we’ve seen him outside, during the day. I thought—well—how does that work?”

“Most of the myths are wrong. He can go out any time, although he has to wear a lot of sun block. His skin’s a little sensitive. So is mine. But he’s a higher level. Not as high as the master that turned him, that guy would have scary power, but higher than me. It’s sort of complicated.”

“I’d imagine,” Nick said vaguely. Cody laughed a harsh, barking laugh and Nick hugged him again.

“When he died—when we—or rather you—thought he died, he took it as an opportunity to go underground. Not literally, but for all intents and purposes. He only goes out at night now, because he’s supposed to be dead. I leave here just before dawn and spend the day with him, and then come back here when it gets dark. You know, because I love flying and sunlight’s kind of hard on me as a bat. I really need to work on my flying. And landing.”

“So—so you guys—bite people?” Nick asked. “I mean, isn’t that murder?”

“No, no, we don’t kill anyone,” Murray said, shocked. “I don’t bite anyone at all. Ted feeds off criminals and occasionally pays people for a little blood, and he feeds me.”

“Ted?” Cody gasped. He couldn’t decide what was more shocking, Murray being a vampire or using Quinlan’s first name.

“He feeds you?”

“I’m not very comfortable biting strangers. Ted fills up and then I take from him. It’s very—intimate. Not unlike making love, really.”

“Oh, God,” Cody groaned and reached for the trash can again. This time Murray’s cold hand wrapped around his wrist and the nausea passed immediately.

“It’s okay, guys. Really. I’m very happy. Ted’s great, we have a good time together, and I still get my work done. It’s a different sort of lifestyle, sure, but it’s okay. I’m just sorry you had to find out this way, with all the puking and everything.” He paused, his hopeful smile dying away. “Are you really mad? Do—do you want me to leave? I never really thought about it, but I guess it might be a little creepy living with a vampire.”

“A _little_ creepy?” Cody said, but he didn’t pull his hand away.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll go if you want me to. In fact, it might be good for you to have some time to get used to the idea. Get in touch with your feelings and—and everything.” But he sounded terribly sad and single silver tear trailed down his cheek as he spoke.

“Boz, no,” Cody cried as real fear touched his heart for the first time. “No, you can’t go. That’s—that’s what we _don’t_ want. I mean, we can’t lose you. God, this can’t be real.”

Murray got up and sat down next to Cody on the cot.

“I’m sorry, guys. It’s not what I would have chosen, you know. But he picked me and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I love him, and I love you, and—it’s weird, but even though I’m undead and everything, I still feel things. I’m still a person. I’m still me. I—I would never hurt you. You don’t have to worry about me—getting hungry.”

“I wasn’t thinking about that. But what if someone found out?” Cody moaned. “They’d want to kill you. Or—or Ted. If something happened to him, how would you—um—eat?”

“I don’t know. I’m not too worried about us getting killed. We’re not hurting people. I mean, not really. He’s not turning anyone. There’s no trail of bodies to raise suspicion. Anyway I don’t think people believe in vampires anymore. They’re just stories nowadays.”

“That’s what we always thought,” Nick said wonderingly. “I guess this means you’ll live forever, huh? That’ll be really exciting. You’ll definitely be able to master artificial intelligence.”

“Oh yes, I’m very excited about that. I’m going to have time to do a lot of really boss stuff.” Then his smile faded once more as he really considered what that meant.

“I’ll leave you the boat in my will,” Cody said, trying to smile for him. “You guys can hide out at sea and feed on drug runners in cigarette boats. It’ll be good for everyone.”

“You can join me,” Murray said hesitantly. “We could all live forever.”

Nick and Cody exchanged a look that Murray didn’t see, but which would have lightened his heart.

“We’ll think about it,” Nick said slowly. The strange thing, perhaps the strangest thing in this whole huge mess of strange, was that they would. If Murray had to go through something as fraught with uncertainty and danger as living forever, they kind of felt like maybe they ought to go through it with him.

“So,” Murray said after a long pause, “do we have any cases?”

***

Murray woke an hour before sunrise and prepared to go out. He would leave his clothes here and put on the ones left behind at Ted’s hideout when he transformed last night. Murray had clothes and glasses all over now. In the movies people became bats and their clothes somehow went with them to cover their human bodies when they transformed back. But Murray had been unsurprised to find that didn’t work. It didn’t make sense, and even in magic, he’d found, there had to be logic.

He opened the deadlight and a second later the skinny geek was gone, leaving only a hovering bat and a pair of taped glasses on the desk. It was actually pretty cool to be a bat and not have to worry about his vision. All bats had to worry about was rabies, and for him that was a nonissue.

Batzinsky, as he thought of himself now, flew out the not so deadlight and skimmed the surface of the harbor, letting a few tiny waves splash over him. He was smaller than ever now but so much stronger for his size. Batzinsky reveled in the power of small things, raindrops, tiny gusts of wind, that noticeably touched and yet couldn’t overpower him. His bat form felt everything but feared nothing.

He glided over the sleepy harbor town, his radar pinging signals of people beginning to wake. Doors opened and closed, stirring the air, and the smell of car exhaust rose from the vehicles of early risers, warming for the drive to work. But mostly what he smelled was the cold, clean breeze off the sea, salty and damp, chilling him in a sort of preparation for what was to come.

Just a few miles north of King Harbor a forgotten dock lay rotting in a tiny cove. Two warehouses stood above the dock, one gutted by fire and the other with most of its roof caved in. This second warehouse was Batzinsky’s destination. He soared between the collapsed sheets of aluminum and into the shattered rafters. Spirally slowly down like a dust mote in the first rays of sun, radar seeking in every direction, he finally identified his target. 

Part of why his landings were so poor was that he didn’t practice much.

Batzinsky thudded into the broad, naked chest of the waiting man and clung with his little claws to the mat of wiry hair. His animal spirit quivered with instinctual fear when hands covered his small body. Then it was gone, leaving only Murray Bozinsky standing there in the arms of the man he loved.

“I hate it when you leave,” Ted growled, backing him against the nearest wall.

“I told them,” Murray whispered. “They were surprisingly cool about it, which means I might be able to stay longer sometimes.”

“They believed you?”

“They saw me fly. They might come with us, Ted. Nick would love to fly for real, no maintenance, no fuel to buy…”

“You still need fuel.” Ted was nuzzling his throat, working his knee between Murray’s thighs, prodding his belly with his growing erection.

“What did you bring me?”

Ted laid his head on Murray’s shoulder, exposing his own throat as his hand went to Murray’s cock. Murray latched on with fangs and fingernails, sucking and thrusting, taking and giving, joined to his love in every way. He would drink until he came and then it would be Ted’s turn to take, to put him on his knees and ravish him. Then they would sleep.

This was their routine. This was their life, spread out before them like a sea with no horizon. They were powerful and they could have it all.


End file.
